Cryos International

Cryos International
TypePrivately held company
IndustrySperm and egg banking
Founded1987
FounderOle Schou
HeadquartersAarhus, Denmark
Area served
Worldwide
ServicesDonor sperm; donor eggs; cryopreservation; fertility services
Websitewww.cryosinternational.com

Cryos International is a sperm and egg bank in Aarhus, Denmark. Based on the number of available donors, Cryos International was the largest sperm and egg bank in the world as of September 2025. It was founded in 1987 by Ole Schou. The bank has outposts in Florida, North Carolina, and Texas in the United States as well as fertility clinics in Denmark and Cyprus. The bank delivers to more than 100 countries. Lesbian couples and single women made up 85% of clients as of September 2025 and sperm prices varied between €40 ($48) and €1,600.

Controversy

In 2021, Cryos International was the subject of scrutiny following reports from the New York Times of lax international regulations on sperm donation. Dutch serial sperm donor Jonathan Jacob Meijer, accused of having between 500 and 600 children, was registered with Cryos, which does not set limits on the number of children per donor. In 2019, Cryos International informed a German woman who conceived a child using Meijer's sperm that he had "donated in countries outside of Denmark, therefore breaching the contract he had with Cryos to donate exclusively to our sperm bank".

References

  1. 1 2 Seed capital - The business of sperm banks, The Economist, Sep 14th 2017
  2. ↑ Sperm specialist: How one clinic is satisfying global demand, Alanna Petroff, CNN, October 21, 2015
  3. ↑ Cryos and CAN-AM Cryoservices Cement Relationship, Business Wire, August 8, 2018
  4. 1 2 3 Mroz, Jacqueline (1 February 2021). "The Case of the Serial Sperm Donor". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  5. ↑ Berg, Stephanie van Den (28 April 2023). "Dutch court bans father of hundreds from donating sperm". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 4 November 2024.